Teachers Pet

13: Understudy

        "Look at me." I shook my head, knowing from past experience if I looked at him, I would cave. "Blair, look at me." Keeping my head down, I closed my eyes. I tried to think of a reasonable excuse to leave. Would he chase after me? My stomach turned as both of his hands touched my face, gently lifting my head up. My eyes still closed, I shook my head again. I reached up with the intent to remove his hands from me, but they just rested on his.

       "I can't," I whispered to him. "We can't," I corrected myself. He had to know how unsafe and wrong this was for both of us.

       "If you don't look at me, I'll kiss you again." I swallowed hard, not sure what to do. If I opened my eyes, I might be the one to kiss him first.

       "Jake, I- " Even though he warned me, it still took me by surprise when his lips pressed down onto mine. I didn't bother to stop him or myself. My body once again took control of my mind and heart. My heart too willing and my mind too weak to object. I felt myself grab hold of his shirt, pulling him closer to me. His hands found their way to my waist just as easy as before. I could feel the heat of his hands through my shirt, making me give into the kiss even more. I smiled through the kiss when he picked me up and set me on his desk. Something fell over, but neither of us cared. I could only think about how he was standing between my legs, kissing me like time would run out. Nothing else mattered. There was nothing here but me and him.

        Even when the bell rang, we didn't pull away from each other. The bell meant nothing as well. My hands tangled in his hair, making him moan when I tugged just the slightest. Getting this reaction from him made me smile through the kiss again. He did as well. It wasn't until his hands at my hips slipped under my shirt, touching the bare skin at my sides that I tensed up. He gently pulled his hands away, placing them on the desk while resting his forehead on mine. Our breathing was a little hitched from the excitement. I pulled my hands free from his hair, resting them on his chest.

       "Sorry. I got a little carried away." I laughed, a little breathless still. I got more carried away then he did I think.

       "If we're gonna do this... can we take it slow?" He lifted his head from mine to see my face. He smiled and nodded.

       "I can do slow," he whispered. I giggled through an unexpected peck. I wanted more, but we had to take things as slow as possible. I couldn't rush into anything with him. Not like this. "I think we're both late." He moved away to straighten himself up. I hopped off of his desk to do the same. Thinking of every little detail of our kiss made me think of Nolan and Dean and what was to come.

       "Did you know that Mrs. Burns wants us rehearsing the final scene today?" He tensed his jaw and nodded. How did he know before the actual lead of the play knew? Was I this absentminded in class that I was oblivious to this important news?

       "I know you'll be great," was all he said.

      "That's it? 'You'll be great'?" He shrugged as his jaw tensed again. "It is a jealous thing, isn't it." He rose an eyebrow at me and forced a smirk.

        "Why would I be jealous?" He sounded defensive. It made me feel a certain way I wasn't use to feeling. I couldn't help but take advantage of this opportunity to smooth things over. I could tell him being jealous was a topic he didn't want to discuss.

       "Am I not worth being jealous over?" His eyes widened a bit as if he worried he insulted me. I laughed as I moved around him to the door. "I'm kidding, Mr. Pierce." He grabbed my wrist and spun me around into his arms in one swift move. My breath caught as he held me and leaned down to touch his forehead to mine. His eyes bore into me, his lids low.